The devastated mum of stabbing victim Josh Dunne told how she cried from the moment she got up to when she went to bed the night of her boy’s anniversary last week.
Diane Dunne also revealed the heartbreaking moment Josh’s younger brother Braden, seven, told her recently, “I miss him, mammy” as the family continues to battle with their grief.
Josh was 16 when he was stabbed to death at East Wall Road in Dublin’s north inner city on January 26, 2021.
Read more: Josh Dunne's heartbroken mother vows to fight back for son two years after death
Although Diane takes comfort from Josh’s friends holding events to remember him, she feels it is becoming more painful as time passes.
She told the Irish Mirror: “It’s very hard. I cried from the time I woke up to the time I went to sleep on the day of his anniversary.
“The night before Josh’s anniversary I went on Facebook and someone had a video up of Josh and I just cried, I couldn’t sleep for hours. My mind went into overdrive. It’s hard. Then you see his friends and you’re thinking he should be with them. It’s horrible.
“It shouldn’t be an anniversary for him passing away, it should be a celebration for him going off to play football with a professional club.”
Diane explained Josh’s siblings are also struggling, with Braden coming to her in tears as he held a teddy he has in memory of his brother.
The mum-of-seven said: “It’s getting tougher for the children. Braden is only seven and he came into me and he had a teddy bear he has for Josh. He just stood there and said, ‘I miss him mammy’. I told him it’s OK to cry but that Josh wouldn’t want to see him sad.
“But how do you explain it to a seven-year-old when I find it difficult myself.
“To see my kids hurting and there’s nothing I can do about it, that’s very painful for me seeing that. It’s heartbreaking. All I can do is try and comfort them but I can’t take their pain away.”
But Diane hailed the support she and her family have got from her son’s loyal friends.
Around 50 pals of Josh – who was a talented footballer – gathered to remember him last Thursday two years on from his death.
And dozens more attended a balloon release at Coultry Park in Ballymun, North Dublin, at the weekend.
She added: “I was crying when I saw them all at the balloon release on Saturday, I wasn’t actually expecting to see that many. They’re brilliant. He was very lucky with the friends he had. They’re never far away. I do believe that they have to get on with their own lives but they never forget him, ever.”
Brazilian food delivery cyclist George Gonzaga Bento admitted to stabbing Josh but walked free last summer when he was acquitted of the murder charge.
A jury accepted it was a case of self-defence and he was found not guilty.
The trial heard that Josh did not attack Bento until he stabbed his friend.
The young lad reacted by punching Bento repeatedly before the delivery man stabbed him twice in the chest.
The court was also told that Josh was unarmed during the incident and he was not known to gardai in any way.
But Diane feels her son’s name was “tarnished” during the case and she feels she has to fight to clear his reputation.
She is going to try to meet officials from the Director of Public Prosecutions this week.
She said: “I can’t let it go. I need to keep fighting. All I want at this stage is for Josh’s name to be cleared.
“We want the CCTV to be shown because you can see everything in that.”
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